Boxes
by crazysockmonkeys
Summary: Niles helps Daphne unpack boxes at his apartment and soon finds himself in a crowd of memories. Fluff warning! Short one-shot.


Niles sighed as he came home and saw the boxes in his living room. He knew that this would mean even more work for him and Daphne as well, when she came home from his father's physical therapy.

They had just gotten home from their honeymoon a few days ago, and now came the task of moving Daphne from her room at Frasier's to Niles' apartment. As he looked at the pile of cardboard boxes he knew that most of it would have to go upstairs to their bedroom or downstairs to the storage room. Either way, sorting them out was not going to be fun.

He took off his jacket and set down his briefcase on the stairway, then went over to his CD player and put in some opera music. He pulled the first box over to him and opened it carefully. It was full of little knickknacks he remembered from being on Daphne's dressers. He got a permanent marker from the kitchen and wrote on the top: _Trinkets. _

The next one contained a few pictures and decorations from her wall, and he labeled it accordingly. He found boxes that held clothes, shoes, and even one that had her unicorn collection inside. He wrote on the tops of each and then put them aside.

One of the very last ones that he opened was very dusty on the top, as if whatever was inside had already been in the box for some time. He took his handkerchief and wiped it off carefully, then opened it just like all the others.

It looked like some of Daphne's clothes, but there weren't any pieces he recognized. He picked up something and took a look at it, trying to find out if he had ever seen her wear such a thing. It was a vest that looked as if it had postcards on it. He suddenly remembered that she had worn it, but so long ago…

Niles gasped and began to rummage through the rather large box until he saw it…the denim button-down shirt she had worn the day that he first saw her…the first time had touched her, the first time he had heard her voice and spoken to her. He took it in his hands and realized that he never before put his hands on it, though he had been imagining it for years. Suddenly he forgot about the dust and brought it to his face, taking a deep breath, taking in Daphne's luxurious smell, the smell that he had always loved.

He carefully set aside the shirt and looked through the box some more, recognizing things and being flooded with memories. Finally, something red caught his eye and he lifted it up. It was the dress she had been wearing when they danced the tango six years ago. Not too long ago he had wanted her to wear it, and he cringed at the memory. He had been foolish to ask her to do such a thing, especially since she was still struggling with weight problems.

But he still loved the way the dress felt on his hands, velvety and smooth, soft, silky. Looking at it make him feel like he had when they had danced together, alive and awake, completely energized. He put that aside as well and kept looking through that box.

He also found the dress he had once zipped his tie into, and even what she had worn on their first official "date."

Each one he said aside, and once he was done looking through the box, he discovered that the entire fainting couch was covered with clothing. He smiled at the sight.

At that moment, the door opened and there was Daphne. "Hey, Niles," she said.

Niles rose to his feet at the sight of her beauty, just as he always had. "Hello, Daphne," he said, and he wrapped her in a hug and kissed her cheek. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too." She looked around the room and saw the all of the labeled boxes. "I see you've been at work," she said, smiling. When her eyes found the couch, she sighed. "Looks like you've found all me old clothes. I don't know why I keep any of these. I suppose I should just get rid of them, except for this one, of course." She picked up the red dress and looked at it, then smiled at Niles.

He went over to the couch. "Daphne, Daphne, look at this," he said, picking up the denim shirt. "This is the shirt you were wearing when I first met you."

"You remember that from nine years ago?"

"Yes, yes, how could I forget? Oh, oh, oh, and this, this is the dress I got my tie stuck in, do you remember?"

"Oh yes, that was quite a time." She laughed. "I guess I could keep a few of these things if you would like me to. Just for sentimental reasons."

Niles reached out and stroked the red dress that Daphne was still holding with the tips of his fingers.

"You may do whatever you wish with this clothing," he said. For inside of him he knew he would always have the memories, and much more, he would always have Daphne.

* * *

**The End**


End file.
